51,106
American airmen were missing in action or taken as prisoners of war. The
POWs were held in Stag Luft camps in multiple locations through out
Germany as shown in the map below (click on map for a larger version)

The German Luftwaffe was responsible for Air Force prisoners of
war and maintained a rather high degree of
professional respect for fellow flyers. Treatment by the
SS or Gestapo was an entirely different matter. For the most part
the Luftwaffe treated POWs well, despite an inadequate supply of food and for the most part
prisoners were handled in a manner consistent with the Geneva
Convention. 7a

In the last year of the war the German
leadership encouraged enraged civilians, who had captured Allied airmen
to wreak their vengeance on them indiscriminately. Fortunately, and to
their credit, German military personnel aggressively defended shot-down
airmen from such outrages. 2a.

Dulag Luft, located near Frankfurt, was the Luftwaffe Aircrew Interrogation Center to which all Allied
airmen were delivered as soon as possible after their capture. There
each new prisoner, while still trying to recover from the recent trauma
of his shoot-down and capture, was skillfully interrogated for military
information of value to the Germans. The German interrogators claimed
that they regularly obtained the names of unit commanders, information
on new tactics and new weapons, and order of battle from naive or
careless U.S. airmen, without resort to torture. New prisoners were kept
in solitary confinement while under interrogation and then moved into a
collecting camp. After a week or ten days, they were sent in groups to permanent camps such as Stalag Luft III for officers or Stalag VIB for
enlisted men. A nearby hospital employing captured doctors and medical
corpsmen received and cared for wounded prisoners. 2a.

The POWs lived in barrack
like structures and for the most part had freedom of movement within the
camp.

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Mc Dermott Library

Used
with permission

Stalag
Luft Archives 3a

The International Red
Cross made frequent visits to the camp and provided regular parcels of
food and supplies. If it was not for the Red Cross support food would have been a serious problem in all
POW camps. As a supplement to starvation rations, food
parcels sent by relatives, despite being frequently stolen, were
essential. It should be remembered that the guards themselves were
not much better off than the prisoners, in terms of food. Receipt
of one parcel per week per man was typical. 7a

Various forms of
recreation were regularly engaged in including cards, chess and
checkers. The most popular card games in Stalag Luft III was Bridge.

At Stalag Luft III the men were
able to construct a simple crystal radio and were able to monitor war
news on the BBC. They had to bribe a young German guard for an essential
part to the radio. Frequently they were able to see Allied bombers and
fighters overhead and could hear bombs being dropped in the nearby
region.

Much attention was taken in food
preparation and special occasions such as a birthday or Christmas that
might require months of hoarding. POWs usually banded together in groups of 8 men for
cooking and messing purposes, and such groups usually became very
close-knit.

The recommended intake for
a normal healthy active man is 3,000 calories; German rations allowed
between 1,500 and 1,900. It was a case of the issued official
rations providing prolonged and unpleasant starvation and only the Red
Cross food parcels saved the day. 7a

Letters were censored both
at the sending and receiving ends. There was no restriction on how
many letters could be received, but they were only only allowed to send three letters and
four postcards per month. Letters averaged five weeks from the USA.
7a

Clothing was always a
problem for the POWs. Civilian clothing was strictly forbidden and military
uniforms were assembled from whatever was available. The men made every attempt to maintain
military
bearing, ensuring that their rank and flying badges were displayed regardless
of what they were attached to! Any officer who had civilian item of clothing took great care to
hide it and keep it safe.

It was vital to
carry aircrew badges and brevets in a secret place while escaping, in
order to prove that an escapee was not a spy. The Geneva
Convention dictated that a serviceman should always wear a uniform, or be
subject to being shot as a spy. The ability to produce evidence of being an escaped
POW was essential. The Germans issued each captive with an
official POW identity disc which could also be used to establish a man's
POW identity.

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Stalag
Luft Archives 3a

Used
with permission

Newcomers to the camp had
to be personally vouched for by two existing POWs who knew them by
sight. As the numbers of airmen increased, this became essential
as it was not unknown for the Germans to introduce infiltrators in an
attempt to spy on camp operations and escape attempts. Such
infiltrators were known as "stool pigeons". Any
newcomer who could not summon two men who knew him had to endure a heavy interrogation by senior officers. Also,
he was assigned several men who had to escort him at all times, until
he was deemed to be genuine. Any stool pigeons were quickly
discovered and there is no evidence to suggest that infiltrators
operated successfully at Luft III.

The International Young Men's
Christian Association (Y.M.C.A.). with headquarters in Geneva,
Switzerland, undertook the mission to protect
and preserve the quality of life for thousands of
prisoners of war on both sides. The International Red
Cross provided food, clothing, and medicines, while the Y.M.C.A.
provided books, athletic equipment, musical
instruments, and chaplains' supplies. Both efforts
contributed immensely to the well-being of POWs. Volunteers from neutral
countries, such as Switzerland and Sweden, with great dedication and at
considerable personal risk, served Allied camps in Germany throughout
the war.

Swedish lawyer Henry Söderberg, was
the representative of the International
Y.M.C.A., and was responsible for the region of Germany in which Stalag Luft
III was located. He visited the camp regularly and went to great efforts
to procure items requested by the men. As a
result, each compound had a band and orchestra, a well-equipped library,
and sports equipment to meet the different British and American national
tastes. Chaplains also had the necessary religious items to enable them
to hold regular services. In addition, many men were able to advance their formal education.
7a

Söderberg kindly donated his rich collection of
official reports, photographs, letters and other materials
documenting his work on behalf of the prisoners to the
U.S. Air Force Academy Library. 7a

THE MARCH

A huge Russian offensive was driving
into Germany from the east that would inevitably overrun Sagan and Stalag
Luft III. Marshal G. K. Zhukov’s First White Russian Army was
advancing into Silesia and had reached the Oder River at a point only
sixteen miles East of Sagan. Adolph Hitler had ordered that all American
and British officers in Stalag Luft III be evacuated to the west.
Plainly, the Germans did not want to permit the Russians to liberate 10,000
Allied POWs who might returned to action against them. The prisoners
in the South Compound would be the first to depart. Anyone who tried to
escape would be shot. 10a

As the Russians
advanced from the East the prisoners of Stalag Luft
III were marshaled at the gate and then driven by their German captors
on a 200 mile forced march to Mooseburg and then Nuremburg. The POWs were starving, did not have
adequate clothing for the severe cold and consequently many of the POWs died
along the way - collapsing and freezing to death in the snow.

USAF Academy
Mc Dermott Library

Used
with permission

Stalag
Luft Archives 3a

USAF Academy
Mc Dermott Library

Used
with permission

Stalag
Luft Archives 9a

Towards the end of the war, the prison
camp at Mooseburg held over
70,000 POWs from 27 different countries.

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Mc Dermott Library

Used
with permission

Stalag
Luft Archives 3a

The men were able to observe Allied
bombers overhead and were able to hear the bombs falling. As Allied ground forces
approached they were able to hear cannon fire.

POWs
point to Allied bombers overhead.

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Mc Dermott Library

Used
with permission

Stalag
Luft Archives 3a

On the morning of April 29, 1945,
elements of the 14th Armored Division of Patton's 3rd Army attacked the
SS troops guarding Stalag VIIA. Prisoners scrambled for safety. Some
hugged the ground or crawled into open concrete incinerators seeking
protection from the bullets flying overhead. Finally, the American task force broke
through, and the first tank entered, taking the barbed wire fence with
it. The prisoners went wild. They climbed on the tanks in such numbers
as to almost smother them. Pandemonium reigned. They were free!1a

General George
Patton

Two days later, General Patton arrived
in his jeep, garbed in his usual uniform with four stars on everything
including his ivory handled pistols. He was a sight to behold. The
prisoners cheered and cheered. The Longest Mission was finally over! 1a

The reality of liberation was a very
emotional experience for the tens of thousands of POWs throughout Germany. Many had had a dreadful experience in the last four
months of the war as they were marched or transported as far as possible
from advancing Allied forces. In the case of the thousands of former
POWs at Mooseburg, liberation also brought frustration and
disappointment. Initially all support of the camp stopped. The Germans
who ran the camp had all been taken off to Allied prison camps and there was a
serious delay before a U.S. Army support battalion could be pulled out of the
line to provide essential support for the camp. Next, the hundreds
of French prisoners packed up and were flown out. General Charles de
Gaulle had obtained first priority for their return from General Dwight
Eisenhower. The Americans waited and, against the orders of their
captors, many quietly departed and hitched a ride to Paris. Eventually
all American former POWs were moved out to nearby German airfields and
transported by C-47 aircraft to the vast but now empty Combat Personnel
Replacement Depots on the French Channel Coast. 1a

The officer airmen who were POWs in
the German camps at Stalag Luft III arrived there through an accident of
war. They varied widely in age, military rank, education and family
background, but had much in common: 1a

They all volunteered to go to war as airmen.

They all managed successfully to complete flying
training.

They all entered into combat flying in airplanes.

They all were survivors of a traumatic catastrophe
in the air.

This unique selection process seemed to give these men common
qualities. They had an: uncommon love of country, a
loyalty to each other. They were very resourceful and applied great
skill to improve their living conditions and to conduct escape and other
clandestine activities. They indeed became a band of brothers.1a

In retrospect, most acknowledged
that their experience as prisoners of war was a defining life
experience. It was not simply an unpleasant waste of
time but they came out of it with, a clearer
sense of values, a knowledge of their ability to endure, a strengthened love of country, improved leadership
skills, and an improved ability to live in harmony with others under
difficult circumstances. 1a